Beetle boi
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is a traditional 3D Zelda adventure, despite all the hullabaloo over the controls. As such, we’ve opted to go the traditional walkthrough route, providing our readers with a push through each major dungeon instead of specific puzzle solutions.
Skyward Sword HD Skyview Temple Walkthrough
First up is Skyview Temple, Skyward Sword HD’s initial trial and introduction of several situations only possible because of the original game’s focus on motion controls. Whether you’re using your brand new Skyward Sword Joy-Cons or just using the button-based option on your Nintendo Switch Lite, we’ll help you get through it. It’s the first dungeon of course so it isn’t much of an ordeal, but we like to be thorough. Here goes.
The entrance is a simple hallway but it introduces webs, which is somewhat notable. If you run right into them you have to wriggle out, but you can cut them just like the trees. Some bats are also flying around, but you know how to deal with those by now.
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You’ll come to some climbable foliage, behind some trees. At the top is an enemy that’ll knock you right off. Stun it with the slingshot first, then scramble up to take it out and continue on. There’s a switch behind the enemy you need to hit.
The next puzzle you’ll come across is an eyeball, which is probably one of the funniest puzzle-like situations in the Zelda series. Hold up your sword and you’ll see the eye follow it. Spin your sword around to make it dizzy, thus “activating” the switch.
You’ll end up in a large area with a locked door, a barred door, and a sort of empty area around everything. Drop down and crawl into a nearby whole, and hit the switch on the other side to raise the water level. The path here will spit you back out where you came. You can also take out the little spiders on the foliage behind the entrance to lead to a little shortcut to the beginning hallway.
With the water level raised, you can find another switch under the barred door to the left. Hit the switch and the bars will take off. The next room contains a couple of large spiders on webs blocking the obvious path, but you can swing across a couple of vines to get behind the spiders. To take them out, use the stabbing move to poke their purple weak spots.
The following room is simply a higher point in the main room, with a chest containing the map. Note the red X marks, as those are points of interest you need for progress. For now, head back to the previous room and move the camera around to reveal a switch between the two vines. Hit that and the water level will change once again.
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Back in the starting room, you can’t get through the locked door yet but you can hop onto the floating log to your right and climb up the foliage to get to a new room. Here there’s a spider to deal with – to take the hanging ones out you need to carefully hit them horizontally to make them spin, then poke their weak point when it’s safe to do so.
This is a new variation on the earlier eye switch. There’s two of them here, so stand between them and they’ll both look at you. Dizzy them out and open the chest for a small key. Head back and finally unlock that door.
This is another large area with multiple doors, as well as a strange building in the middle. The switch to open the building is right above the door, so shoot it to get inside and face a mini boss of sorts.
This tough skeleton boy holds two swords; swing your sword in the direction of its openings, much like the basic enemies. If you mess up you’ll eat a nasty counterattack, so take your time. That said if you can fit in a spin attack, that extra damage adds up fast.
You’ll earn the Beetle for your troubles, which is basically a flying drone you can launch and control until it hits something solid.
To leave this room, send the beetle through the web above you, then turn it back around to face the building and ram into the switch to reopen the door.
Next, fly the beetle into the spaces above the leftmost door; avoid the enemies in the small tunnel and hit the switch to unlock the door. Inside this room is another big spider, but this time it’s crawling at you. Do an upswing to knock it over, then the finishing blow to take it out. Make sure you’re close enough, otherwise the finisher will miss.
The next puzzle is another eye gimmick, with three of them this time. You’ll notice the third eye won’t open, so you have to get higher. Climb the foliage behind you and you’ll see a block hanging via some web. The beetle can cut that, and push the block down for your solution. Once you position yourself so all three eyes open, you know what to do.
Back in the previous hallway you won’t be able to just return. So, send the beetle through trees and webs to hit a new switch, raising the water and leaving via a new little floor opening behind some trees.
Now you can head to the next locked door. Use the beetle to hit all the hanging plants (cut their vines) before crossing the rope.
The next room is another special enemy situation. Use the Skyward Strike to hit the creature’s eyes all at once to take it out quickly.
After this, use the beetle to cut the spider down in the next room, and hit the switch above the door to open a shortcut back to the middle area. Drop the two vines off in the distance and then use the beetle to get the enemy to hop onto the tightrope. It should come after you, then you can use the beetle again to knock it off before you even get on it yourself.
The door is locked, so go through the open path that leads up to a wire. It looks kinda like the tightropes but at an angle, so don’t step on it. Instead, cut the wire to swing across and make your way through the vines you dropped earlier to find the Golden Carving. It’s the boss room key! Rotate it to fit both the lock shape and the design to open the door.
Boss Fight: Ghirahim
Ghirahim will slowly walk towards you and mess you up if you let him. You’ll notice his glowing hand that tracks the position of your sword. Fake him out by holding your sword in one direction then swiping from the opposite. You can usually get two or three hits in before he backs off.
If he catches your sword, and he probably will since it’s finicky, pull it out of his grip before he takes it from you. If he does take it, back away to get him to throw it at you, then retrieve it from the ground.
After a few successful feints Ghirahim will draw his own sword, and brandish a few different attacks:
- Summons a group of projectiles to launch – easily dodged with a hop to the side
- Teleports around and close up, then prepares a strike – hit him from the opposite direction like regular enemies
- Takes a distant stance, then charges – he’ll veer to one direction at the last moment, watch him and aim your strike in the direction he leans or he’ll eat your lunch
Once you deal enough damage, you’ll get a cutscene and the traditional Zelda dungeon ending fanfare. Congrats, sort of! You have a lot of work ahead of you.
Keyword: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD Skyview Temple Guide